Is my PSU of sufficient capacity

[akif]

Jou Jye Electronics Co. Ltd.
Switching Power Supply
Model: AP-5-1 (12V) (250W MAX)

AC~INPUT VOLTAGE CURRENT FREQUENCY
115V~230V~ 6A3A 50-60Hz
DCOUTPUT Orange Red White Yellow Blue Purple Black Gray Green
+3.3V +5V -5V +12V -12V +5VSB COM PS-ON PW-OK
0.3-20A 0.5-25A 0.5A 13A 0.8A 0-2A Return Remote P.G
(+3.3V & +5V MAX OUTPUT 145W. ALL OUTPUT IS EXTENDED TO 250W MAX.)

Made in China
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Above is a complete description of my PSU. My system is as under:

Celeron 2GHz
Intel D865GBF mobo
ONE 80 GB MAxtor HDD
ONE CD-ROM (52X)
2*128MB DDR SDRAM
56K modem
1 FDD
NO AGP card
NO sound card
No LAN card
NO Sound CArd

[akif]

Sory, relooking to my thread i realized that it might be unreadable.
So, the following is in brief:

Brand Name:Jou Jye Electronics Co. Ltd.
13A on +12V
25A(max) on +5V
20A(max) on +3.3V
2A (max) on +5Vsb
(+3.3V & +5V MAX OUTPUT 145W. ALL OUTPUT IS EXTENDED TO 250W MAX.)

Does somebody know what is the "sb" attached with on of the +5V rail?

Earlier, most of the folks here on the forum said that 250W is barely enough to meet my present system specs. However, after looking to the detailed Amperage is there any reconsideration to that comment?

[Steve]

Hi akif,

I think your psu is borderline, but I've seen several computers with similar hardware run fine on a 145 watt (or less) power supply. If you already have the power supply, I'd say put it in and see how it goes. If you are thinking of buying this unit, I'd say look for a higher wattage unit. Most of the P4/Celeron computers I have seen have 300 watt PSUs.

[akif]

thx steve,
this is the PSU i have on my pc and it is working for a month or so.
The system doesn't have any problems with it at present.
I was just thinking of buying another one if it is a risk to my other components.

[Jhorner1]

If your system is running fine I would leave things alone. If you are planning to add more drives or fans I would upgrade to a supply with more power on the 12v+ rail. Sb is standby, and provides power to the system even when it is turned of (unless unplugged). It is used for "wake on LAN" and other similar features.

[superdrumr]

It doesnt seem like that configuration would overload a 250 watt ps, but it would be a good idea to upgrade to a 350 just in case (especially if you might add new components later on)

[mjc]

Yes, borderline......you are running at least 10.5A out of your available 13A on 12V.

Also looking at the way it limits the 3.3 and 5 V to a max of 145W it looks like all 3 rails are combined.....that means a large draw on won will impact the other voltages.

So for right now, it is enough, but for any kind of expansion, it probably is not....and today's computers rely heavily on 12V.

[BBS]

I have a PC with 250W PSU. P4 1.6GHz, 640MB RAM, 40MB HDD, DVD + floppy drives one each, 56K modem, LAN built-in in MB. It works fine.

While the PSU seems at borderline, power consumption of devices will not peak at the same time. High quality PSU should be able to be overloaded for a short period without any problem.

[mjc]

There is one time that the power consumption will ALWAYS peak at the same time.....each and every boot.

Also power supplies last longer and run more efficiently when not run near maximum output. This is mainly due to running cooler.

And yes, a good quality one should be able to handle an occasional overload without problems....but most PSUs included with cases and most of the lower priced units are not "good" quality.

The indivual ratings for each voltage are important, too. A 400W PSU with only 15A on the 12V leg is just about worthless. These days 17+A on the 12V leg is almost a REQUIREMENT, if not you probably won't be able to add another drive, without stability problems cropping up.